June 10: Day 7: Greg’s Birthday

Author: Bethanny Brooks

Celebrations and Creative Steps in Smuggler’s Cove

Today was Greg’s birthday, and the celebration called for another trip ashore together. We all headed in with Artemus, who gave us a great cruiser milestone to celebrate—he actually peed on the shore! Little victories can make boat life so rewarding.

We spent another lovely day stern-tied in the deep calm of Smuggler’s Cove. I dedicated a good portion of my time to a big project: officially starting our new travel blog on Blogger.com. It’s still a work in progress, but I even set up a dedicated Google account for it at SV.Lil.Ollie@gmail.com to handle all of our future blog communications and hosting. It feels great to get the wheels turning on sharing our journey.

Between tech sessions and exploring, the day was filled with beautiful moments, projects, and a few sweet surprises.

[Photo: View from top of hill on shore.]

[Photo: Greg and Artemus resting on warm rocks - a natural chair made from rocks.]

[Photo: Me in my purple accessories - didn’t realize I had so much purple on board - it all came together.]


[Photo: What is in the box covered in pretty paper?]

[Photo: A gift from Iris (and Will)]

[Photo: Greg putting the whipping on the end of a rope. Has practical value and looks nice.]

The afternoon also brought a bit of cruising reality as we looked out at the water. We felt sympathy for our neighbors aboard SV Parsifal. Ron and his partner (whose name slips my mind at the moment) have been having trouble with their transmission. Sadly, they have to cut their trip short and head back to their home port in Nanaimo tomorrow. It's a reminder of how quickly plans can change out here.

[Photo: Lil’ Ollie and our neighbour boat. They were having trouble with their transmission and have to end their trip - heading to home port tomorrow (Nanaimo) SV Parsifal - Ron and...]

We wrapped up the birthday celebrations with a spectacular, comforting dinner in the cockpit. We feasted on Greg’s pre-made meatloaf heated to perfection, leftover spaghetti from yesterday, a crisp Greek salad, and a glass of red wine. I am so incredibly full and satisfied that I think I’ll be fasting until lunch tomorrow!

[Greg and Artemus look satisfied too]

[Photo: View from cockpit.]
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